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Thursday, 26 August 2010

Kitchen Solutions Kent are about to launch their bespoke kitchens available in Kent, Essex, London and the S E of England. To compliment their succesful german kitchen offer from Nobilia they are about to introduce a flexible kitchen offer which will allow kitchen buyers to specify the material they want their kitchen made from and the colour they want their kitchen finished in.

Kitchen doors will be available in solid woods, pvc wrap, high gloss, acrylic and laminates. Consumers will be able to specify any colour they wish, even painted kitchen doors will be available. The kitchens will be manufactured at a factory in Kent which means that lead times and transportation costs will be low.

Kitchen carcass construction is to a high standard and to suit traditional cottage style kitchens solid wood drawer boxes with dovetailed joints are available. The service will be launched in around 2 weeks time - check back for more details.

Nowadays the modern kitchen functions as a family hub of domestic activity and entertaining. They're well lit, open spaces. Modern kitchen design should meet your family's life-style and how your kitchen is utilised for cooking, eating and entertaining. Because the kitchen is required to fulfill more roles other rooms in the house they increased in size. Modern kitchen design is about creating open-faced kitchens - combining a dining area and family space.

Both purpose and style of a modern kitchen represent important parts when undertaking a kitchen design or refurbishment project.If you're replacing an existing kitchen or planning a kitchen addition or a new home, here is some current kitchen design trends to bear in mind.

Among recent trends in modern kitchen design ideas is to combine the kitchen with an adjoining family room. To create this the wall dividing the kitchen and family room or dining-room is entirely removed producing a less constricted space centred on a large kitchen island or peninsula.There are distinct rewards to enlarging ones kitchen. By opening up the space you make the kitchen and the other room appear spacious. Also since kitchen cabinets, worktops and appliances are good-looking articles of furniture in their own right you are able to showcase your new kitchen. Your budget won't really increase all that much by opening up the kitchen other than the price of additional cabinets. Anyway the added cost of the kitchen design should be more that setoff by the growth in the value of your property.

Furniture-style cabinets remain a popular trend in kitchen design . These furniture-style cabinets are particularly fashionable in the design of kitchen islands. Characteristics that lend cabinets a furniture-like visual aspect are legs and bun feet, pilasters inlays and mouldings.

As for kitchen colours finishes white and cream finishes continue to be popular, although kitchen designers and trendwatchers also see a growing interest in deep, rich browns and darker colours

Kitchen manufacturers and designers are beginning to design more individual and freestanding pieces of kitchen furniture instead of the usual built-in cabinetry for larger rooms. This is better-known as freestanding kitchen design first popularised by English designers and cabinetmakers. This leads to another trend of combining pieces of old or antique furniture with modern kitchen cabinets

Undermount sinks in cast iron or stainless steel are among recent alterations in kitchen design because householders prefer the clean fluid look which coalesces with modern designs. The advantages of an undermounted sink are that it is utilitarian, beautiful and very easy to install. The bowl is installed beneath a worktop. No sink rim shows above the worktop and there is no lip to accumulate water and catch dirt and crumbs. Instead detritus is conveniently swept into the sink so that the counter can be cleaned quicker.

Hot trends in modern kitchen design include:

Worktops: Solid surface worktops remain popular with the commonest being granite. Corian is another popular choice. Mixing different materials is getting much more common, using stone on some counters, butchers block or concrete on others.

Glazed, distressed and antique finishes are increasingly being usede to replace traditional ornate details once used on many high-end kitchencabinets.

Painted finishes are very popular and many kitchen manufacturers will produce kitchen doors in any colour of your choice.

According to kitchen designers as modern kitchens expand in size and complexity, "mixed orders" are getting much more commonplace. Kitchen islands, wet bars, baking centers and butler's pantries are regularly being incorporated into kitchen designs producing the requirement for more contrast in cabinet styles, colorus, types of wood and finishes.

Sunday, 22 August 2010

A design competition launched by inventor James Dyson has seen several entries take the form of innovative kitchen appliances.

Among the designs submitted to the James Dyson Awards is a small gas hob that can be removed from kitchen worktops when not in use to save space, as well as a microwave that is able to connect to the web and play a video clip that lasts the duration of the cooking time, Relaxnews reports.

One other invention is a safety system that automatically closes the source of a fire - such as an oven - using wireless technology.

"Increasing population growth, urbanisation, environmental concerns and a greater interaction with the virtual world is leading to the creation of ever more innovative, space-saving, environmentally-friendly household appliances," Relaxnews says.

New kitchen appliances that have recently been launched in the UK include a dishwasher with three drawers instead of two and washing machines with a slim depth to fit into small kitchens.

As the kitchen sink continues to take centre stage in new kitchen designs, the demand for stylish, time-saving appliances like steaming hot water taps continues to increase. With convenience becoming a real buzz-word for kitchen design, since hitting the UK market steaming hot water taps have revolutionised the task of heating and using water in the kitchen and have become a popular alternative to the traditional kettle. But as the market develops, and consumer needs increase, category manufacturers will have to demonstrate both aesthetic and functional developments of these simple, yet stylish time-saving appliances in order to stay ahead of competitor ranges.

Brass and stainless steel still remain the most practical material for the majority of sink accessories, however the market is seeing the introduction of a wider variety of alternatives allowing designers greater creativity. There are now also a multitude of finishes on the market to help home owners find steaming hot water taps to match their kitchen and mixing taps. Our experience is that polished chrome and brushed steel continue to be the best sellers.

Because of the ease with which they can be mounted unobtrusively to either the work surface, or sink top, they offer a space-saving option whatever the tap's design. However, in line with predictions of increased demand for contemporary style kitchens, we envisage a trend, as for traditional taps, for much cleaner, simpler lines in steaming hot water taps.

Saturday, 21 August 2010

A recent report on futuristic kitchens , has revealed that by 2040 the kitchen will be so technologically advanced it will respond automatically to individual needs.

The independent Future Kitchen report, carried out by The Future Laboratory on behalf of IKEA, revealed that in 30 years time kitchens will be able to respond to energy levels, nutritional needs and moods of its users and even with this extensive use of technology will be sustainable and eco friendly.

IKEA has created three hypothetical kitchens of the future to reflect the findings of this report into social trends and factors that will influence our lives and homes by 2040.

The INTUITIV kitchen of the future features sensors that can read brainwaves and adjust the kitchen to suit the mood of the user. It even has aromatherapy infused walls that can be synced with the user’s calendar to calm you before a meeting or energise you before a gym session.

“The INTUITIV kitchen is a possible kitchen of the future with over one third of the population (41%) expecting that by 2040 we won’t even have to cook for ourselves,” said Carole Reddish, deputy managing director of IKEA UK and Ireland.

The report found that 44% of the people surveyed believed that the most important feature in our kitchens in 2040 will be energy saving. According to the survey, over two thirds of UK consumers (67%) currently try to buy energy efficient appliances suggesting that ‘green awareness’ is on the increase.

IKEA developed the ELEMENTRA back to nature kitchen that encourages you to grow your own food and be self-sufficient with a garden or mini allotment as a standard extension of the room. Food will be kept cool through larders and recycling facilities will be seamlessly incorporated into the kitchen.

With over 57% of people thinking that technology will boost our overall kitchen experience IKEA designed the smart kitchen, SKARP. This intelligent kitchen predicts the needs of its inhabitants using smart technology. Synchronised appliances will make everything happen at the touch of a button, communicating through iPad style devices, acting as the brain of the home.

For the 41% of Britons who expect that they will no longer need to clean their kitchens in 2040, the SKARP kitchen has smart surfaces creating self-cleaning kitchens.

SKARP also encourages energy efficient behaviour with devices like phone applications to control carbon emissions and thermostats which respond to voices and fingerprints.

“IKEA is constantly innovating behind the scenes to respond to changes and challenges to life at home so we can offer solutions that best meet people’s needs,” said Reddish. “We think that the economy, social changes, concerns for our health and especially the environment will greatly influence kitchen design in the future.”

The survey polled the opinion of 1,895 respondents aged between 18 and 65 years old living in the UK and was carried out as part of IKEA’s ongoing project focused on how best to provide for consumers’ lifestyle needs in their homes both now and in the future.

Domestic steam ovens were introduced to th Uk in the early 1990's bringing around a revoloution in kitchen design and the use of appliances in the kitchen.

Used in professional restaurant kitchens long before, the domestic steam oven was adapted to provide a healthy means to cook for people in their kitchen at home. During the following 10 years, premium kitchen appliance brands added steam ovens to their consumer offer, but they were still viewed as specialist appliances.

Lately, steam ovens have become less of a niche choice and one that often competes with microwaves as an alternative second oven. In many kitchen designs Kitchen Solutions Kent fit a regular single oven, a steam oven and a combination microwave, oven and grill

This kitchen trend continues with new generations of multifunction ovens that incorporate steam technology. For us as kitchen designers and fitters, steam ovens form part of a compact kitchen appliance collection of similarly-sized ovens, and because 450mm is the most popular size for a dedicated steam oven, they can be fitted above a standard single oven or as part of a compact group.

Two 450mm ovens - a steam oven and a microwave combination oven will fit into a standard double-oven cavity.

Normally , steam ovens require no plumbing, meaning installers and kitchen designers to incorporate the appliance anywhere in the kitchen layout without the need for the appliance to be attached to mains water.

The effectiveness of a steam oven is greater than steaming steamer on the hob. Steam ovens retain vitamins and mineral salts in the food. You can steam separate food types together with no flavour contamination, so vegetables and puddings can be steamed together simultaneously in one appliance making steam ovens convenient and economic.

Research indicates that up to 90% of foods placed in a microwave oven can be cooked, defrosted or reheated in a steam oven, and unlike using a microwave, moisture is always retained.

In some kitchen designs space is at a premium. With that in mind, kitchen appliance manufacturers have begun to introduce multifunction ovens with steam functions, thereby offering the best of all worlds in a single appliance.

The steam cooking function works by using accessories with telescopic runners, a full-width stainless steel steam tray with glass lid that is filled with up to 400ml of water and then placed in the oven cavity.

Steam ovens look to be increasing in popularity steadily over th next few years

Tuesday, 17 August 2010

Quartz worktops are manufactured alternative to natural granite worktops. Made from quartz and bonding resins, the worktop is then coloured to suit. The colour range is limitless from black to white and almost every colour in between so it's a great material for kitchen designers and homeowners to work with.

As it's synthetic stone the finish and colour match is very consistent and the suface is non porous, getting around a couple of issues that natural granite has. Kitchen Solutions kent supply all types of quartz worktops. The viseo below details some of the advantages of Caesar Stone, just one of the brands of worktop that we use in our kitchen designs.

Thursday, 12 August 2010

In the UK we tend to think of Corian in terms of solid surface worktops for kitchens and bathrooms but it's much more versatile than that. The video below illustrates how many other uses it has. A number of designers were asked to design and produce a unique object to celebrate a special anniversary for DuPont. It's clear to see that there is much more to the product than just Corian worktops for kitchens.

Planit Fusion software allows customers to get a really good understanding of how their new kitchen will look when it's completed. As you can see in the video below it's possible to produce some really stunning visual representations of kitchens using this method.

Planit software is not restricted to just kitchen design, you can use it to produce plans and images for any room in the house with equally spectacular results.

It's great for kitchen fitters to as it produces technical drawings and plans with clear measurements and annotation which is important when it comes to actually installing the kitchen.